


Fall in love too easily

by ChestnutBrumby



Series: Sweet Dreams - Scarlet Vision ficlets [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky is awake, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Other, Post Civil War, Steve is Steve, Wanda is lonely, sam is helpful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-16 00:16:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7244566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChestnutBrumby/pseuds/ChestnutBrumby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes moving on and standing still are difficult to tell apart. </p><p>Wakanda and T'challa have been kind to Steve's team, but everybody always has something going up beneath the surface. (Except Steve. That man's so damned transparent).<br/>Wanda Maximoff doesn't regret coming here. She has her boys - Steve and Sam and Scott and Clint and Bucky and T'challa - to keep in line. But being apart from the person who has come to mean more to her than she can fathom is taking a toll upon the Scarlet Witch. </p><p>Vision never really assigned meaning to words like 'loneliness' or 'boredom'. Tony is preoccupied with supporting Rhodey, whose injuries have caused Vision no end of guilt - forgiveness from the two of them means little when you can't forgive yourself. Peter is a good kid, but he's got homework. Missions are government-run now (which means few and far between for a three-man team whom SecDef Ross doesn't exactly trust) and speaking of the government, guess who's come knocking for a certain android...</p><p>Rating change to T for some mild violence/gore in chapter 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since this is Vision/Wanda relationship focused, I've included it in their Sweet Dreams series. However it's not necessary to read any of them to follow this one, with the potential exception of chapter 8, 'If you need us', the rescue of Steve's team from the Raft, which will be referenced here in later chapters.

Wanda fired off a last crimson bolt at the giant robot. It was a well-timed blast, hitting the chest piece at the weakest point, and Wanda fed the energy into the tiny crevasses towards the central processors, until the metal monster crashed to the ground a short distance from the Scarlet Witch.  
  
Wanda frowned at the ugly metal plates on the face. These things always reminded her of Ultron, and she hated fighting them because of it. If the others noticed her anger, they never commented on it. They all knew that Wanda was determined _never_ to be the scared girl cowering in a ruined house ever again.  
  
At least this robot had been the last one standing. With a groan, she flexed her arms and took stock of her injuries. Only bruises, and a single cut running diagonally over her bicep, painful but not unduly so. She'd been through much worse.  
  
"Scenario complete." The animated voice intoned, and the training session faded away, dissolving like the illusion it was. "100 percent success rate."  
  
"Excellent work, Miss Maximoff." The heavily accented voice greeted her as she traipsed tiredly into the observation room. No matter how many times she asked T'challa to call her Wanda, his formality won over. "Thanks." She covered a yawn. "Sorry. Looks like the calibration issues are all sorted. I did not catch any flickers this time."  
  
"Yes, the head technician assures me those issues are over. But it is late, and you have worked hard. Dinner is served, if you wish to visit the dining area."  
  
"Thank you, T'challa, but I think I'll have a quiet one tonight. See you tomorrow."  
  
Truth be told, Wanda didn't really enjoy the too-formal meals the boys often took, prepared by T'challa's top chefs. She had much less appetite these days, and had lost weight, almost verging on a boniness that caused her teammates no end of worry.  
  
As she did so often, she grabbed a quick snack from the small private kitchen T'challa had set aside for the Avengers' use (Sam still liked to cook, though not as much as he once did, since he also liked to eat and was a fan of the amazing dishes the chefs could whip up) and retired to the lounge, pausing only to place a plaster over the cut on her arm. Thought it was late, somebody was waiting up for her, single arm pressed lightly to the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the east.  
  
"Oh, Bucky." Wanda strode over to join the former Winter Soldier, feeling a flash of guilt. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you were waking today."  
  
"S'okay." He nodded at her, and though the greeting was short there was warmth in his gaze. Neither made any move towards a hug or handshake. They were alike in one way, especially since Wanda's escape from the Raft - they weren't either a fan of being touched. (Bucky's exception was Steve, Wanda's was Clint, though they both had limitations to said exceptions). "Steve was there when I came out of it. He's always there."  
  
Bucky had very subtle expressions and tones to his voice, but after spending her previous year with another friend who was the same - sometimes more so - Wanda had no problems identifying the affection.  
  
She was envious of Steve, sometimes. Even thought his best friend spent ninety percent of his time locked in his cryo-tube, he was still here. Plus he had Sam to boot. Not that it really bothered Wanda all that much. Decent people gravitated towards Steve like he was their personal sun, and most days she just hoped she was counted among those people.  
  
Wanda genuinely cared for all her teammates. Steve because he was Steve, because he was moral and good and he never, ever compromised. Wanda needed leadership from somebody as trustworthy as Steve - it was why she'd agonized over the accords, knowing that she didn't trust her powers in anybody else's hands.  
Sam she adored for his indestructible loyalty, his willingness to help people, for his faith. Clint for being her surrogent father-figure and for never hesitating to share his courage. Scott for his heart and bravery, for making everyone laugh, and for being a genuinely decent guy. Bucky for his determination, his longing for redemption, for trying harder than anybody she knew to make up for his past, and for his profound relief at being given a second chance. T'challa for his trust, his compassion, and his morality. They were her family, and she loved them dearly and trusted every one of them with her life.  
  
But as glad as she was to have them, none of them were the person she loved most.

  
"You're all right?" He indicated her arm. She waved off the concern. "It's nothing, really. Can I check?" She raised her hand, indicating Bucky's temple. Bucky met her gaze and lowered his chin. "Please."  
  
That was not a word he said to many people.  
  
Wanda extended her scarlet magic towards Bucky, closing her eyes, forcing herself to concentrate, pushing aside her tiredness. Since Bucky had begun taking part in training and even some close-to-home missions, mostly aiding in the protection of Wakanda's borders, Wanda had been in charge of monitoring Bucky's brainwashing. She had installed pyshsic blocks in his mind, detaching the conditioning that was linked to the trigger words, so that even if somebody got their hands on him they wouldn't be capable of triggering him. The blocks were short-term though, and Wanda replenished them each month when Bucky awoke, or before a mission they roused him for especially.  
  
"Done." She gave him a single pat on his remaining shoulder to let him know he could relax. Exhaling sharply, he opened his eyes. Wanda understood precisely how little he enjoyed having anybody inside his head after what HYDRA had done to him, even his own teammate. But he met her gaze evenly, and she watched crimson fire fade out of the blue. "Thanks."  
  
That was the other word not many people heard from his lips.    
   
"No need. I wish I could take them out altogether, but - you have already lost so much to other people digging in your mind." Wanda had thought about trying to completely remove Bucky's conditioning many times. It was one thing to read a mind, to find a worst fear, but actual removal of memories - more than memories, really - Wanda was certain she had the potential to cripple Bucky trying.  
  
She was surprised by the flash of anger she caught from Bucky. He shook his head, long hair still damp from his defrosting. "Wanda." He stated, his tone immediately capturing her attention. He lapsed into Sokovian to emphasize what he was saying. "Because of you, I'm not stuck in a tube. You've let me help T'challa. I can be there for Steve, at least some of the time. I have a _purpose_ again." He didn't reach for her, but his blue eyes bored into hers intently, conveying the same effect. "Don't ever loose sleep on not being able to do more for me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here."  
  
She nodded, though hearing him speak Sokovian was always bittersweet. She missed her home and enjoyed the occasional chance to practice in her native language but it always unfailingly made her think of her twin. Also of the two people she used to speak it with after his death - Natasha and Vision. Nat and Bucky could understand Sokovian, a close dialect to the Russian they were both fluent in, and Vision had access to every language there was. (His pronunciation though had been so atrocious at first, he'd asked her to practice again and again until he got it right).  
  
Somedays the sole thing she longed for was to have them all back with her.  
  
_Damn damn damn._ Now she couldn't escape nostalgic memories.  
  
"You ought to get some sleep." Bucky wore his version of a worried frown as he peered at her downcast face. She gave a tiny, shaky, and totally humourless laugh. "I'll try." She promised him, and set off for her bedroom.  
  
The nightmares always came. Every night now. She'd grown to live with them, determined to keep going, keep training, keep fighting. _She would never be that scared girl in the ruined house ever again._  
  
She had lived through experimentation then torture then loosing her twin then turning on somebody she cared for more than she could comprehend. Nightmares were nothing compared to any one of those things.    
  
At three in the morning she knew she'd attempted as much sleep as she'd be capable of and she pulled on long sleeves, jeans and two jackets against the cool African air. Layering, something Sam and Scott could never grasp, throwing on a single jacket them complaining when they wound up freezing. Bucky had spent enough time in cold climates for the process to be automatic and Steve could wander around in a t-shirt and never feel the cold, the great big jerk. Though he spent as much time with his family as he did in Wakanda, Clint always dressed sensibly too.   
  
Wanda meandered back into the lounge to find somebody already sitting on the couch. "Sam. You're up late."  
  
"You're one to talk." He replied, but gently. "Want to sit?"  
  
She slumped on the couch opposite him. Sam was good company. He didn't try to fill silences. He also handed her over the remote for the flatscreen TV flickering on the wall, the volume turned down low.  
  
They watched boring infomercials and daytime television repeats for an hour or so before Wanda grew upset by a couple embracing passionately after a long period of separation and stabbed the power button with more force than was required. She was horrified to find tears escaping down her cheeks.  
  
She knew how much it worried the others when she cried, and controlled herself when she was around them, saving tears for when she was alone in her room.  
  
"You wanna talk about it?"  
  
"I miss him, Sam."  
  
"Yeah. Yeah kid, I know you do." Sam didn't move to put an arm around her like he would have before the Raft, but she felt the intention in his mind. She tentatively touched down on the core of sadness there, where he didn't often acknowledge it. "Is there anyone you miss Sam? That you wish you could have with you?"  
  
"Besides Hallie Berry?"  
  
She almost smiled.  
  
After a beat, Sam exhaled sadly. "There are days when all I want is to have Riley back again. He was my partner when we both first got our wings. He wasn't scared of anything, you know? Total daredevil. But, in a lot of ways, he was like Steve. He couldn't stand to see anyone mistreating someone else, doing something wrong. He'd fight all day to set things right. Somedays I wonder, maybe that's why I connected with Steve so fast. And I felt guilty, because I was like 'you shouldn't want to replace Riley'. I felt like I was using Steve. Had to come to terms with that. Even after I accepted everything with that... Riley was still gone."  
  
"How do you keep going?"  
  
"Same way you do, Wanda. I live for both of us." He stood up, stretched. "I need a coffee. Want some tea?"  
  
She nodded, distracted. "Sure."  
  
By the time he'd returned with two hot cups, ready to listen if Wanda wanted to talk more, she'd dozed off, curled into a ball up against the couch arm. Sam carefully draped a blanket over her, sadly patted her hair, and wished with all his heart he could actually help her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Um - Vision?"  
Vision looked up from the television he wasn't actually watching. He would have been hard-pressed, in fact, to name the show that was playing as reruns of the A-Team.  
  
"Mr. Parker." Vision sought through his memories of correct greetings to somebody you didn't know very well. Wanda had covered exactly this in one of their earliest lessons together. Nod? Handshake? Sitting or standing? By the time he'd decided it was too late to put any of them into practice. Vision ruefully rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
There was really only one thing he could concentrate on.  
  
"What can I help you with?" Vision could see Peter Parker was holding an electronic device - a Sega Mega drive, he identified - tucked under his arm.  
  
"I was wondering if you could look at this for me?" Peter gave him a hopeful look. "I've been trying all week but I just can't get the power stabilized."  
  
Vision accepted the old platform. He wasn't concentrating as much as he should and there was a split second - too quick for Peter to notice - where he almost phased it through his grip.  
  
"I'll gladly investigate the problem." Vision wondered if Peter knew him well enough to hear the flatness in his own voice. Judging from the worried way the teen eyed him, he may have.  
  
"Well, I really appreciate it." Peter smiled and waved goodbye, leaving Vision with the teen's latest treasure.  
  
He stood for a long period with the console in his hands. Almost an hour, he realized when he snapped out of it.  
  
There was no way this could be healthy.  
  
Another forty-eight minutes were passed in Mr. Stark's lab, fixing the electronic device for Peter. Once that was done, the hollow feeling returned to his gnaw gently at his insides.  
  
Though Peter was a good-natured person, he had school and his own life, and Vision saw him mostly on missions. Tony almost always had something planned, unless he was helping with Colonel Rhodes' rehabilitation - Vision knew he was trying to keep busy, keep his mind off how desperately he missed Pepper.  
  
It was an odd feeling, understanding that he shared a great empathy towards Tony Stark. It wasn't always so, however. On the nights were Tony was overwhelmed by hopelessness and cheered himself up by keeping the liquor cabinet company, Vision saw little of the man he knew Tony Stark was capable of being.  
  
In short, Vision was lonely.  
  
What an odd thing for him to be, he had thought once. He had thought his purpose was to protect mankind, preserve life, safeguard the planet. He still believed all those things were true - he just wondered if there could be more to his existence than that. Still... loneliness in a being who would always be set apart from humanity... it was an irony.  
  
Or perhaps not. There was one person who didn't treat him differently, after all, who had told him once the whole world would one day, see her belief.    
   
When the three men and two women all in dark suits showed up at the door, Vision couldn't miss them. Their thoughts were shaded in many emotions - menace, hostility, worry, suspicion. He mentally reeled back from the thoughts that edged their minds, but the memory lurked.  
  
"Can I help you?" He knew he was being rude, speaking without opening the door - but something inside him was warning him. _Don't let them in_. There was a procession of badges flashing.  
  
"NSA. Is Anthony Stark at home? We need to speak to him." One of the males - Agent Hartwell - stared through the door insolently.  
  
"And may I ask what this intended speech is regarding?" Vision couldn't understand the small echo of his own voice in the back of his head, alerting danger, _don't let them in, don't tell Mr. Stark they're here._  
  
_Don't trust them._  
  
Agent Hartwell brought a fearful smile to his lips, a cold gesture that didn't touch his eyes, and instead reminded Vision of the way a wolf showed its teeth before a fight. "You."  
  
Tony put in an appearance, though he didn't seem bothered by the suits. "What do you want?" His speech was clear, not slurred, but Vision's sense of smell gave away that this was a time Mr. Stark had begun indulging in an alcoholic beverage. His fingers twitched.  
  
"I take it you didn't receive our letters." One of the female agents (Manachas) asked Tony dryly. He winked at her. "Maybe. I like to keep my paper shredder well-fed."  
  
"We're here for The Vision." Nobody had used the 'The' in reference to him in a while. Vision's skin prickled. He stopped himself from stepping back from the door. The warning bells rang louder.  
  
"Sweetheart, he's only two. Way too young for you to have your wicked ways with him." Tony leered.  
  
Without any sign of humour, Agent Hartwell stepped forward. He was taller than Mr. Stark. "We're here to escort The Vision to his government-mandated tests."  
  
"He'll ace whatever you give him. I did design him, you know."  
  
"That may be so, but we still need the results. The next step of the Sokovia Accords is documentation of the abiltieis of each enhanced..." Hartwell obviously sought for a fitting term. "...Individual. In preparation for the Registration Act."  
  
"Give us a minute."  
  
Tony pressed the button which shut the metal storm door in the agent's faces and turned to Vision, clapping him on the shoulder. "Don't look so worried. Ross did actually tell me about this, they just want to record what you can do, that's all. Do me a favour - go with them, do whatever tests they want you to do, and I'll swing by tomorrow and check on you, okay?"  
  
Vision wanted to go with his first... _instincts_ , that had been an instinct. He didn't want to go anywhere with these N.S.A. agents. But as he opened his mouth, he hesitated.  
  
Mr. Stark was going through a great deal of difficult events - his breakup with Miss Potts, his friend's injuries, mentoring Mr. Parker... Vision couldn't add his own disobedience into that list. He'd already caused enough trouble being the one responsibly for the Colonel's condition, after all.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Stark." He agreed, and the voice in the back of his head protested with unhappy mutters.  
  
The first tests were easy. It would have been a positive thing, like the sense of focus and direction he got from being out on a mission - but for the silent faces. Watching, always watching, from a high window set above the circular, high-ceilinged test room.    
  
They had him preform physical tasks, training sessions, feats of flight and strength and accuracy. It took all day, and when they showed him to the barren room that was to be his for the night Vision recalled the tiny cell Wanda had been kept in the Raft. He spent the night morose, thinking of what she'd gone through.  
  
Wondering if she'd recovered.     
  
The second day was aptitude tests. Halfway through Mr. Stark came in to check on him. "Keep up the good work, Buddy. They're all amazed at what you can do." He was gone inside of ten minutes, off to Colonel Rhodes' therapy session.  
  
Vision told himself it wasn't anything personal. Tony had attended every single session in person, taking notes and forming ideas that might help his friend regain the use of his legs. Vision was safe in a government-run facility.  
  
So he kept reminding himself.  
  
By the third day he was frustrated by the never-ending tests, which were largely menial tasks, and slightly put out that Mr. Stark hadn't come to check on him again. He'd never really experienced boredom before, and didn't recognize the signs. When they brought him to the computer and asked him to challenge the security program to see if he could break in, he barely spared the machine a glance. Impatiently, he connected to the machine, ready to break the coding down, access the passwords and finish yet another trivial task.  
  
It hit him with a brute, blunt force blow. There was a virus, latching on, racing through him. Was it a computer virus or a biological virus? It couldn't be both, could it?    
_Fire_ \- all across his skin.    
_Confusion_ \- filling his mind.  
_Darkness_ \- blanketing his sight.    
  
The sudden rush of pain caught Vision completely by surprise. His muscles locked, screaming in silent agony through his body, which arched in protest. He reeled back, staggered, then crashed to the ground. As he did he caught a glimpse of the agents in the window, calmly jotting down notes.  
  
Making no move to come to his aid.  
  
That lack of concern confirmed his suspicion as his consciousness ebbed, as the virus forced itself into his body.  
  
It hadn't been an accident. They'd set a trap for him on purpose.  
  
The last thought that flickered, faintly, before his eyes closed, was of Wanda.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda to the rescue!  
> Also Bucky, who doesn't love Bucky?

Wanda couldn't recall experiencing quite so much pain and anguish since the moment she felt fourteen bullets rip through her twin. She vividly recalled the moment of panic, _no, no, he can't be dying_ , HE CAN'T BE DEAD but feeling the hollow, broken of their mental connection that confirmed he was already gone.  
  
Now as she woke, with fire burning up her veins and somebody else's fear consuming her mind, she was wildly terrified that for the second time she would feel somebody die while connected to their mind, and there could be no doubt, none whatsoever, that there was only one person whose mind she had such a link with.  
  
 " _Vision_!!" She cried, and only stopped a concussive blast of her powers shattering the room with the shred of her control that remained. She closed her eyes, frantically searching for him, unquestioning that she could still connect with him when they were this far apart.     
  
Nothing matted except finding out if he was all right.  
  
She slumped down and put her head in her hands when she realized he was still alive, relief compressing every bone in her body. It wasn't possible to have a mental bond with somebody who was dead, and though there was a frightening blankness from Vision's end of their link, it hadn't been outright broken. Instantly Wanda was in action, throwing aside the blanket twisted around her body, leaping off the couch with ferocity akin to a whirlwind.  
  
"Vision. If you can hear me, hang on. I'll find you."  
 

There was something she'd been practicing - pinpointing a particular person by sensing their brain waves. So far she hadn't had a very good success rate, and that was just locating her teammates at various points around T'Challa's palace and grounds.  
  
But this was _Vision_. She couldn't afford to make any of those mistakes when he needed her. She'd have to be sure this time.     
  
It took an agonizing hour. Weather it was the distance, Vision's unresponsive state, or her own failings being as distracted for his safety as she was, that was how long it took her to narrow down her search field to a handful of buildings. Since only one had power she quickly dropped at the nearest computer and lit up the encrypted search engines T'Challa had taught her how to navigate.  
  
89 Simon William Drive... an impatient bit of digging and Wanda had the schematics, which she printed, the surroundings - industrial - and the owners of the building.  
  
National Security Agency.  
  
Anger sparked in her chest. The government. The cursed _government_ he'd placed his trust in - had gone back to fight for - had him. Had hurt him. Wanda stabbed the power button on the computer and rose to her feet, composed fury.  
  
Time to go find Vision. And those who dared hurt him.     
      
A mental scan of the immediate rooms belonging to the Avengers showed two people still awake. Wanda headed straight for the one in the gym and found Bucky doing one-armed pushups.  
  
He looked up in surprise as Wanda burst in, rising to his feet. She immediately seized his arm, and his eyes widened in surprise at the voluntary contact.  
  
"Bucky, please, you're the only one I can ask, can you fly me to America, please Bucky, Vision needs me, but you can't tell Steve, he might need to... he's in pain, somebody's hurt him, _I have to go_ , I have to-"  
  
" _Wanda_!" He so rarely raised his voice it was a shock, and his hand caught her shoulder, steadying the torrent of words. "I'll take you." She nearly keeled over in relief. "Do you need anything- no, okay. Let's go, T'Challa has a jet he said we could use for emergencies."  
  
He'd only picked up on bits and pieces in her flow of words, he was fairly certain the 'Vision' she spoke of had fought against their side in the civil war, and he definitely did not like going without telling Steve. But after T'Challa had done so much for them, Bucky would keep an open mind to just about anybody who wasn't Tony Stark. Wanda was the only one on the team he'd do this for - he owed her so much. In the end, his loyalty to Steve gleamed through. He snatched a piece of paper and scrawled a few lines for his best friend while Wanda put an errant member of the security team painlessly to sleep.  
  
**Steve,**  
**Wanda needed me. I'm coming back - she'll look after me.**  
**Don't be mad.**  
**~~I love you man.~~ **  
**-Buck**  
  
Wanda paced restlessly within the luxurious confines of T'Challa's jet, actively scanning for Vision and making attempts to contact him every ten minutes or so. They all went unanswered.  
  
The pain that had awoken her - _his_ pain - frightened Wanda. She had no idea who could have hurt Vision that badly - enough to knock him unconscious? She paused suddenly, flashing back to the final battle against Ultron.  
  
Back then, she'd had no idea that Vision would become the new most important person in her life. Despite his appearance and powers, he'd been slightly less strange to Wanda than the remainder of the Avengers. She'd seen him being made, been there for his birth, listened to his first words. Though at that stage, she hadn't realized their shared mental powers, she'd still been aware of him in a background sort of way. The way you know a radio's on the the next room even though you can't hear the tune or lyrics.  
  
Fighting Ultron, Vision had been temporarily overwhelmed after he burned Ultron out of the internet. As far as she knew, he'd recovered from that on his own. The thought should have given her some tiny measure of reassurance.   
  
It did not.  
  
In her heart she was afraid something was wrong, really wrong, because otherwise she would have sensed him before now - when he was in danger on a mission, for instance. She'd felt him because he had encountered something he couldn't handle himself, and called her for help, the same way that she'd once done to him.  
  
He'd come for her that time, too. No matter which side they were on, whose battles they were fighting, Wanda knew in her heart there was a part of herself that belonged to Vision, and a part of him to her, and that nothing could possibly divide them for good.     
  
"We're close." Bucky's voice broke her out of her own thoughts. He'd set an autopilot and came into the cabin to toss her a gym bag. "Grabbed one of your uniforms. Better get changed."  
  
Wanda blinked, surprised that Bucky had thought of her as they made their hasty exit. She felt a sudden flash of guilt at dragging him here when she knew he wasn't ready to be back in the field yet.  
  
"Thanks Buck." She murmured, and he nodded briskly and headed back to the controls.    
  
When she exited the bathroom she found the soldier buckling on his customized shoulder belt, wedging it against a control panel with his hip so he could do it up one handed. He then began to fill it with guns - she recognized they were all tranquilizers, apart from his favourite assault rifle, lung over his back. The knives were tucked inside the kevlar jacket he wore on missions around Wakanda.  
  
" _No_."  
  
He didn't even look up. "Yup."  
  
"Bucky, absolutely not."    
  
He stashed one last knife an glared keenly at her. "Wanda Maximoff, if you really think I'm letting you march into an unknown facility by yourself you have another think coming."  
  
"Bucky, it's the _U.S. government_ that has him. There could be HYDRA agents in there! What the hell am I meant to do if one of them knows you?!"  
  
"Either I'll shoot him in the head or you'll blast him through the wall, whichever of us gets to him first." Bucky pulled on his goggles. "I have to land."    
  
"Get back here, we are not done!" Wanda stomped her foot childishly.     
  
He ignored her. Damn, she'd never realized how alike Pietro he was in sheer stubborness levels.  
  
"I could just stop you." She threatened as Bucky brought the jet down, murmuring in approval. "Can't beat VTOL." He powered down and patted the console in front of him.  
  
"Bucky!"  
  
He swung to face her, serious now. "Wanda. We are teammates. You don't want to trap me here and have to waste half your power keeping me that way. Now wait, just listen. I can see how much this Vision guy means to you, and that means you'll be more prone to making a mistake because you're worrying about him and not yourself. You _need_ somebody to watch your back."  
  
Wanda stared wordlessly at him, trying to come up with an effective argument. He sighed. "Your choice. Stop me or let me come with. You stand a much better chance of helping your boyfriend my way, though."  
  
He left the jet, jumping down the two stairs. Wanda closed her eyes, preformed a quick scan of the minds she could feel working in the NSA facility, narrowed down six (former? Cut off one head...) HYDRA agents out of the staff and determined that none of them had any more than a passing knowledge of the Winter Soldier program.  
  
"Okay you can come." She paused at the top of the stairs. Bucky had brought them in for a landing on a warehouse roof. There were streetlights, but only on the street corners. The road was industrial and the nearest passing traffic four blocks away.  
  
Bucky had his back to her, but his hand was up, held out in an offer to help her down the stairs. Wanda rolled her eyes and knocked it aside.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend, you know."  
  
" _Uh-huh_."  
  
He shot her that little smirk he had perfected, and she smiled back. He was a good friend, Bucky Barnes. She could now see a little more clearly why Steve had never given up on him.  
  
"Okay, stay behind, cover me. I'll K.O. anybody who gets in our way, but if I miss anybody, tranquilize them. I can tell where they're holding Vision, in some sort of lab on the the third floor. No killing anybody unless we have to."  
  
"You've been spending too much time around Steve. Barking out orders, no-kill morality, heading into danger first."  
  
"Shut up." Wanda told him tolerantly, and she used her powers to wrench the barred security cover on the roof access door off, setting it down gently so it didn't clang. A thread of scarlet into the key lock clicked the mechanism open, though the bar and deadbolts on the other side took more concentration. (Locked doors were something T'Challa suggested she practiced with. She was going to have to remember to thank him when she got back).  
  
She breathed deeply in the narrow, enclosed hallways as they threaded towards a back stairway. Bucky's footfalls were almost silent but the hum of his mind told her exactly where he was behind her, and she was suddenly glad he'd insisted on coming.  
  
The first two NSA agents were visible through an open doorway, which Wanda snuck up to and hit them with a double hex bolt that slumped them both to the ground, eyed closed. A group approached down the corridor and she zapped three of them, Bucky tranquilizing the other two, no less accurate despite being down an arm. On the stairs they only ran into one, who was so busy texting she didn't even look up. Wanda telepathically put her to sleep. Bucky stepped on the woman's fallen phone as they passed. "Whoops." He whispered innocently when she turned to glare at him.  
  
The trouble only came when they got to the lab. There was far heavier security here with a dozen agents in front of the entrance, the approach of the corridor a short enough stretch to make their approach impossible to hide.  
  
The first two agents cried out in surprise as Wanda seized them and threw them backwards into the next pair, putting them out one at a time. Bucky fired a shot over her shoulder and downed another. Wanda threw up her crimson shield as the next two opened fire, and the bullets pinged harmlessly to the floor. Bucky took the opportunity to tranq two more but three of them were approaching, right at the edge of Wanda's shield.  
  
"Up!" Bucky shouted, and Wanda obligingly levitated, letting him fire darts into the three nearest of their enemies. She noted the final two agents - heavy with full-body armor - pull full-face visors down, leaving no skin exposed for Bucky to dart. Concentrating on the heavy metal door to the lab she ripped it free of its hinges and threw it at the two armored agents. One of them fired blindly as fell, bullets ripping in a wild diagonal line across the hall.  
  
She had her shield up still to protect her, but Wanda felt a hot flare of pain from Bucky's mind and heard a quiet grunt. He'd been hit. The instant blaze of worry had her catching the two armored agents, already dazed from being hit by a door, and cracking their heads into the wall with such force they both slumped unconscious. Bucky only had one agent remaining and Wanda dropped him as well, with equal force.    
  
"Bucky?" There was blood flowing down his arm, and it looked like another bullet had been stopped by his kevlar-blend jacket. He twisted his arm to inspect the injury, an entrance and an exit wound about three inches apart on his bicep. "Amateur. Stop worrying, it went straight through. Let's go get him."  
  
Without so much as grimacing, he grabbed a fresh tranquilizer gun and stepped through the ruined doorway beside Wanda.  
  
Vision was strapped down to a sterile-looking metal chair, eyes closed, head and hands bound, his suit in shreds and his cape nowhere to be seen. There were exactly five technicians and scientists in the room - clearly not battle-trained by the terrified way they huddled together in mortal terror - one of whom clutched a dull silver cutting implement the size of a butcher's knife, but sparking with electricity. The blade dripped a thick, clear fluid, a match to what was flowing steadily from a deliberate incision down Vision's left thigh.  
  
The only one who reacted in time was Bucky, who threw himself backwards, rolling through the door and popping up sideways to hunker against the wall. A crimson flare exploded from Wanda like a phoenix hurtling itself from the ashes, knocking the whitecoats back from Vision. Not one of them got up again. Wanda wouldn't have noticed if they had, simply rushed straight to Vision's side. Bucky appeared in the twisted frame of the doorway again and quickly checked the five - all out cold. He figured they ought to count themselves lucky Wanda hadn't killed any of them. Quickly he retrieved the weapon they'd been slicing up Vision with. The electricity had died, but Bucky scowled when he noticed the thin cutting edge.  
  
You didn't spend months in Wakanda - even if you slept through a great deal of them - without being able to recognize vibranium. He stashed the weapon to take back with them and went to stand guard in the hall, head turned towards Wanda in case she called for him.     
  
Wanda tore away the restraints, leaned over the chair, and whispered his name. Some tiny part of her foolishly hoped for the fairy-tale. For him to open his eyes and tell her he was okay.  
  
But that was just a fairy-tale, after all.  
  
She choked on nothing when she saw his leg up close. They'd carved into him, a gash that started a few inches under his hip and ripped down to touch his kneecap. It was deep - exposing the synthetic muscles and deeper again the silver gleam of vibarium bone. Arteries and veins that had been sliced directly open were the source of what she imaged what his equivalent of blood. A small pool had gathered under his foot.    
  
"V _ision_." He voice broke. It took several attempts to willingly summon her powers, each failure agonizing, _he needs you, hurry, hurry_!  
  
She placed a trembling hand over the top of the slice. She knew she couldn't repair the damage - for now she just wanted a seal, something that would stop his blood flowing, keep the leg stable while she got him the hell out of here.  
  
"Vision, I'm here now. I'm here, I'm here." She found her voice again, though the pitch rose and fell unsteady. She spotted Bucky's worried face peering around the door. She barely noticed, her concentration on focusing her magic, bandaging without a bandage.  
  
She was trembling when she was done, but she was fairly certain that she could move Vision without causing him any further injury. Crimson sparks never died as she rested her hand on his forehead, over the noticeably dull gem set there.  
  
"Vision, I think you can hear me in there. I'm taking you away now. You will be safe, now. You'll get better. I won't leave you."  
  
She slid her arms around him. She wouldn't have had a hope without her powers and they extended now, deceptively thin tendrils that began to take on his weight.  
  
"Do you need-" Bucky stopped talking when Wanda lifted Vision out of the chair. "Ooo-kay. Stay behind me, let's get him to the jet."  
  
He only had to tranq two more agents before they were back on the roof, and Bucky was swift to deactivate the security system and board the jet. He knew their good luck wouldn't hold and rapidly began the flight sequence. He didn't look into the cabin to check on Wanda, not wasting a single second, but he could hear her speaking in a low voice to the crimson-skinned android.  
  
The people he cared for most in this world were a shrinking man who talked to ants like they were his best friends, a guy who spent a lot of time in a rather advanced cat costume, a winged smartass who treated his flying drone like a pet (all he really needed at this point was for Wanda to adopt a leopard cub or maybe a young mongoose for the team to win a 'weirdest pets' award) and a thawed-out super solider. Not to mention the Scarlet Witch herself, who'd fast become the kid sister to his temperamental big brother. Who was he to judge who was important to her?  
  
He lifted the jet from the roof, activated the stealth tech, and headed for the nearest safe house he'd once utilized as the Winter Soldier.      
  
Wanda quickly gathered the jet's medical supplies. She then checked Vision's heart rate and was alarmed to find it both slow and irregular. He wasn't breathing, but then, he tended to do so only as a matter of habit, since he didn't require oxygen. She checked him over for any further injuries - an easy task since most of his suit had been shredded away. She removed the tatters and left only the waist region for modesty's sake, lifting each arm in turn and running her fingers over his skin to see if they'd done anything else to him.  
  
To her intense relief, the awful wound to his leg appeared to be the only one.  
  
"Coming in to land." Called Bucky from the pilot's seat. Wanda realized she hadn't asked where they'd been going, but she trusted him completely. Loathe to leave Vision's side even for a moment, she kept her hand on his arm as she peered out the door Bucky opened.  
  
Quiet. Forested. It reminded her a little of the area around the compound, though they were clearly on the side of a mountain. The lights of a town gleamed in the distance, but she couldn't see anyone closer than that.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Ohio. This is one of the places I used to lay low after missions - I'll go first and disable the security, just in case there's a HYDRA agent who knows about this place sitting behind a screen somewhere." He vanished without waiting for an answer.  
  
"All clear." He reported a few minutes later. Wanda picked Vision up again and carried him carefully into the unassuming log-frame cabin. Bucky hauled over a couch from under a plastic cover and went to fetch blankets and pillows, shaking dust off a few of them as he handed them over. Wanda built a nest of types and settled Vision into it.  
  
"Damn. No matches." Scowled Bucky form where he crouched by the fireplace. Without looking Wanda shot a hex at the wood and paper he'd assembled and he jumped back as it ignited a bit too violently.  
  
"Thanks. Wasn't using my eyebrows anyhow." He muttered.  
  
"There's a bullet hole in your arm. Two in fact, and you worry about a few sparks?"  
  
"It's not a bullet hole. It's a bullet _graze_." Bucky corrected, and took a saline pad from the first-aid kit to swab clean the bullet wounds, as if Wanda had reminded him they were actually there. He lifted the hem of his suit an checked on his lower ribs. The bullet had been stopped by the kevlar weave and only bruised him.  
  
"Graze is a bullet passing close enough to burn you. Bullet went into your arm, bullet went out of your arm. That's not a graze."  
  
Bucky rolled his eyes and changed the subject. Like he wasn't going to hear enough about his bullet decor once Steve found out. "How's Vision doing?"  
  
She frowned. "It's hard to tell. He's alive, but his heartbeat's very erratic. I'm going to see what I can do about cleaning his leg."  
  
Bucky stayed nearby, handing Wanda bandages and antiseptic and boiling a kettle of water for her over the fire. He didn't speak, letting Wanda work both with her hands and her magic, trying to understand and repair the damage done to Vision.  
  
Bucky had seen this guy flying, phasing through people, and shooting lasers from his forehead, but he didn't look all that intimidating now. He just hoped for Wanda's sake that he'd make it through.  
  
She couldn't loose anyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision wakes up. What are you waiting for, if you want to know what happens, get reading!

Wanda didn't leave Vision's side.  
  
Bucky patrolled outside, stood guard on the tiny front veranda, and alternated with bringing her bottles of water and hot teas. When dawn broke he opened a packet of cereal and ate.  
  
Wanda told him she wasn't hungry, and he left it at that.  
  
Nothing seemed to wake Vision up. She'd tried him both physically and mentally and gotten no response. It was Bucky who pointed out the faint burn mark on the bottom of one of his feet.  
  
"Happens with an extreme amount of electricity." He explained, and Wanda recalled Clint using electrified arrows to temporarily contain Vision when he'd come to get her from the compound.  
  
They'd been _shocking_ him.  
  
At mid-morning she changed the dressing and bandages along the incision on his leg. "I wonder if I should be trying to get him to Seoul." She thought out loud. She hadn't heard form Helen Cho during the civil war. But she'd freed her from Ultron's control. Even if she didn't agree with Wanda's stance now she might feel she owed her a favour.      
   
"Don't be so quick to give him up." Cautioned Bucky from outside. She'd forgotten how good his hearing was. "I want to know how he wound up in there with the NSA in the first place."  
  
Wanda hadn't thought too much about that, but Bucky's voice was so grim it gave her pause. Who had the power to capture Vision?  
  
"He's doing okay. Give him time to recover. You're doing fine." Bucky comforted gruffly, and so Wanda decided to stay the course.  
   
He cooked some pasta at dusk and she managed to eat a little, enough to keep Bucky satisfied. After he washed up their few dishes he banked the fire and glanced over at Wanda and her patient. "If I head out and sleep in the jet, are you safe with him?"  
  
Wanda opened her mouth to snap at him, then caught herself. Bucky hadn't spent a year training with Vision, understanding his gentle nature and rare flashes of humour and glimpsing his protective side.  
  
"If I'm not safe with him, I'm not safe with anyone."    
  
Bucky grunted. "The jet has better sensors than anything I have in here, so I'll keep scans running. If you do need me, I'll have my radio on."  
  
He passed her a link and patted her shoulder gruffly. "Good luck."  

 

* * *

 

  
Wanda was bone-weary, but sleep seemed as distant as the stars. She placed her hand on Vision's forehead, startled when she realized he was cool to the touch. She was so used to his warmth. He hadn't been this cold when she'd brought him in, had he? Heart in her throat, she timed three minutes and touched him again.  
  
He was downright chilly. Wanda's own blood froze in her veins. Was his heart still beating? Yes... yes, but it was slower than before. She focused her hands on either side of his head and delved into his mind, searching for some spark of life.  
  
She didn't find any.  
  
" _Vision, no_. You are _limitless_ , Vis, you can beat this."  
  
Without realizing it, Wanda's powers grew brighter. The crimson strands roiled over her hands and up her arms. They wound around Vision, their intensity mounting.  
  
Wanda felt distant from it all, disconnected from her body as she channeled her own energy into him. She hadn't made a conscious decision to do so, hadn't known this was in fact something she could do, as if her powers themselves had responded to her desperate need.  
  
The rest of the world grew dimmer, but still Wanda held on, her hands shaking, her muscles protesting, her eyes closing. With a final splutter, her powers ebbed, then died altogether. Weakly, Wanda reached for Vision, her fingers splaying against his chest.  
  
He was just barely warm under her fingertips, and the steady thump of his heartrate had increased.  
  
Wanda smiled in relief then pitched forward on the couch.

* * *

 

  
  
When she opened her eyes, recalling disjointed fragments of a strange dream, she realized several things in a short span of time.  
  
She was warm.  
She was on the couch.  
There were a strong set of arms holding her.  
  
"Wanda, you're awake. Are you well?" Asked a voice so gentle, so familiar, so acute with concern for her despite everything he'd been through, that she felt her chest expand at hearing it.  
  
She lifted her head and found two silver-blue eyes looking down at her and she burst into tears.  
  
"Vision, Vision." She sobbed, burying her head in his shoulder. He brought one of his arms up higher, threading his fingers though her hair. "I thought you were dying." She choked out against his skin, and his arms tightened.  
  
"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Oh Wanda, I've never been so glad to see anybody as waking to find you here."  
  
Getting her sobs under control, though tears still tracked down her cheeks, she cradled his face in her hands. The Mind Stone had lit up again, but there was a faintly scarlet tint to its usual citron hue. "You're really all right?" She couldn't stop her voice from shaking. He placed one hand comfortingly over hers. "I will be now. I think I have you to thank for that, on more than one account. I know you were the one to rescue me from the NSA - what did you do after that? Earlier today?"  
  
"I think somehow I... fed my powers into you? I don't remember it clearly, but you were freezing cold, and your heart had almost stopped." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. Vision wiped an errant tear from her cheek. "Something happened to my powers, they were brighter than normal, stronger somehow. I think just keep going and going until I passed out."  
  
"I think you were able to reach and recharge the Mind Stone." Vision told her thoughtfully. "It is what I derive my energy from, and since your powers came from the same source, it may have allowed you an access point of types." He looked so troubled for a moment Wanda brought her forehead to rest against his, unheeding of the slight impression of the stone.  
  
"I'm just glad you're okay. You _are_ okay? I think they were electrocuting you, and- and your leg! Does it hurt?"  
  
Vision considered this for a moment, then the edge of a smile quirked his lips. "Yes."  
  
Wanda clucked her tongue, mildly exasperated with him. " _Only you_ would be happy about feeling _pain_ over the six-inch gash in your leg. You'd better let me take a look."  
   
His arms tightened a little possessively around her. The couch was not a large one, and she was very aware suddenly that she was lying atop him, pressed intimately against his body, and also that he was wearing very little clothing. She dropped her head to hide a sudden blush and went to pull back with the intention of checking on his injury.  
   
"Wanda?"  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"I don't want you to go."  
  
Well that was surprising. Vision had never been so forward, least of all with her, least even more about what he wanted.  
  
"Vis, I'm not going to go very far." She pointed out reasonably. She'd only left the first-aid kit on the nearby benchtop. He still didn't loosen his hold, and there was a very content part of Wanda that really didn't want to leave the security of his grip. She turned her shoulders slightly so she could peek up at him and was almost blown away by the look on his face.  
  
He had never been overly expressive, even with her, with each smile or frown a notable occasion - she could still bring them to memory with ease - but his expression now spoke volumes. It recited poetry and inspired fleets to the ocean and rewrote the fabric of the universe into a singular truth. In his mind's eye she saw a thousand memory fragments of the two of them together, passing so quickly she couldn't begin to sort them out, but she didn't have to.  
  
_She could feel it._  
  
"Please stay with me." He had never sounded vulnerable once in his life before now. Wanda's defenses crashed down, her heart overflowed, and tears - happy ones this time, edged with just a hint of fear - welled in her eyes. Without being consciously aware of her decision she lifted her chin and kissed him on the lips, then reached up to frame his look of surprised delight with her hands. "Vision, I will stay with you, I will listen to every overly technical long-winded explanation you come out with, I will eat every bad dish you ever cook and I will come for you any time you are in danger." She vowed, watching his eyes grow rounder and rounder with each word.  
  
" _Wanda_." He breathed when she was finished, at a loss for anything else to say. He pulled her in for a hug, and clutched her like someone with value so great it was incomprehensible.         
   
They both dozed, in their own way, and Wanda only blinked back awake when the birds started to sing outside. Vision let out a protesting murmur when she shifted against him. "Okay, this time I really need to check your leg. I don't care if you do want a manly scar you can show off to the other boys." She sat up and carefully slid her foot out from where it was sandwiched between his calf muscles. He dropped his arms from her with a shadow of reluctance, and she patted his cheek as she stood up.  
  
"Do you think you can sit up?" He winced, but did so. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Odd." Vision examined the bandage with some interest. He looked just as fascinated when she unwound it. "Did I bleed?"  
  
"Yes, just not blood. It was thicker and clear, but with a slight pink tinge. There was a lot of it." Wanda tried to be matter-of-fact, but her voice quavered slightly, the memories too fresh. She busied herself gently cleaning the wound, then applied a sterile gauze pad and re-bandaged it, using less pressure this time now she knew he wasn't going to bleed out.  
  
"There." She stood to tidy away the first-aid kit and wash her hands in the bitterly cold water running from the tap. His eyes followed her until she came back to sit beside him, resting a hand lightly on his knee. "Do you need anything else? I mean, I'd usually ply an injured teammate with soup, noodles and tea, all three laced with a drop of vodka, but it's you, so."  
  
He smiled. "Could we move a little closer to the fire?"  
  
"Of course. Are you still cold?" She rested her fingertips against the skin around the mind stone. "You feel a little below average, for you."  
  
"I am having great difficulty regulating my internal temperature." He admitted. "I've never been quite so grateful for a fire."  
  
She moved their blanket and pillow nest to the rug in front of the fireplace, then returned to his side and wedged her shoulder under his, taking his weight and helping him to not put any pressure on the injured leg. He moved slowly and cautiously, so unlike his usual subtle balance, she knew he was still in pain. They both sighed in relief when they sank down in front of the flames, which Wanda stirred up with the poker before adding some fresh logs.    
  
"Thank you. Not just for the fire." Vision waved his hand at the cabin. Wanda turned to look at him. With firelight playing over the already compelling colour of his skin, lighting his face and the expanse of muscled chest and arms, he looked downright sexy, and her heart skipped about three beats.  
  
"I meant what I said." She replied evenly, and Vision put his head on one side, studied her for a moment, then leaned in towards her.  
  
It was at that moment, naturally, in which Bucky flung open the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Great timing, BuckyBear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay with this one. Illness and other less pleasant things have been happening. Let's just say getting to spend a while with Vision and Wanda's problems is a vast relief right now. 
> 
> One more chapter to come after this one, but rest assured this isn't the end of Sweet Dreams. Thanks to my readers for your patience and support. You guys are a marvel.

Wanda was ashamed to admit to herself, but she hadn't actually thought about her surrogate big brother since Vision woke up.  
   
It all came flying back when Bucky threw the cabin door open and came storming in, scowling - only to be met by a sudden beam of golden energy. "HEY!" He automatically fell back into a defensive stance and went to lift the metal arm he didn't have anymore up to protect himself, the protective gesture so ingrained Wanda knew he couldn't prevent it. She telekineticly gave Bucky a shove so he sprawled on the floor and the energy bolt flew harmlessly past. It sailed out the door and hit a pine, instantly superheating the sap and blowing the tree into fragments.  
   
Wanda couldn't decide which one of them to deal with first. "Vision! Bucky!" Scolding for the first, alarm for the second. Bucky looked over his shoulder at the remnant of the pine. "Hope they're not still looking for us." He remarked dryly.  
  
"Well you could have knocked." Wanda protested defensively. What was it about all the men in her life and their inability to knock anyway?    
  
"Yeah, well I didn't know I'd be interrupting a makeout session." Bucky rolled his eyes. "I take it you're Vision?"  
  
Vision was frowning at Bucky, and Wanda didn't think it was just because he was annoyed or startled at the interruption. There was an uncommon tension around Vision's mouth and eyes.  
  
"Vis?"  
  
He didn't respond, just stared at Bucky with growing desperation. Bucky himself was staying perfectly still, the way one might freeze to try and convince a wild animal you weren't a threat.  
  
Wanda understood the instant she brushed his thoughts."You don't remember him? Bucky was at the airport in Germany." She told Vision softly. He turned his troubled gaze upon her. "I know who he is. Logically, I know he was at the airport, as was I, and that I ought to recall him."  
  
"Vision." Wanda's tone was soothing. "You've been through something traumatic. It's probably just a side effect. It's human to blank things out... trust me."  
  
Vision stared at her searchingly until the last two words. Then the tension melted from his posture.  
His gaze turned to Bucky, still wary in the doorway. "I apologize." He told the other man stiffly. Bucky nodded and slowly straightened up. Oh good, another of Steve's friends didn't like him. Good thing he wasn't the type to take it personally.  
  
Wanda heard the too-formal tone as well and eyed Vision, who hastily made a slightly better attempt. "James Buchanon Barnes, I believe?"  
  
"Bucky. My name is Bucky."  
  
There was a moment of silence. Bucky cautiously stepped further into the cabin, swinging the door closed behind him. _Well, this was awkward._ He headed over to the sink and the first-aid kit and removed the dressings on his arm, cleaning them then leaving them uncovered to promote healing.  
  
"How's the leg?" He nodded at Vision, who frowned thoughtfully and looked down to examine the injury. Wanda answered for him. "It seems to be as good as can be expected."  
  
"Good. I need to make a call, and he's going to want answers." Sighed Bucky, holding up his cell phone. He turned it on and winced. "Sixty-four missed calls and text messages, really Steve? I'm going to try this call outside." He eyed Vision again for a moment and though he had more sense than to say it, he gave Wanda a 'call if you need me' look. He pressed the phone to his ear and stepped back outside, glad for the excuse not to intrude on the couple.  
  
Wanda and Vision could just hear Bucky's voice drifting in,  listening to the one-sided conversation as he tried to placate his best friend.  
  
"Steve, of course we're both all right.  
What, you thought I was going to get my other arm blasted off? I'm over that phase.  
No, I don't think this is a joke.  
Look, we're fi-  
Wanda's of course. Are you kidding? That girl is the most capable person on your team.  
She's not hurt. I may have gotten shot.  
Steve-  
_Steve_ -  
Ste-  
STEVE, chill. It went straight through my arm, didn't get near the bone, and I can barely even feel it.  
No.  
_No_.  
Look, we're fine. You want me to level with you?  
She asked me for help because her boyfriend was in trouble.  
Yes, Vision.  
Seems okay, but the NSA were pretty much torturing him. No idea Stark knew.  
Yeah, that'd be good.  
"Okay. I don't know how much longer we'll be here. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"  
  
He raised his voice to call out to the two still inside. "Hey Lovebirds, Steve says gets better soon to Vision, and Wanda, he wants to talk once you get back."  
  
He didn't come back inside afterwards, and Wanda quickly checked his mind and found him stalking a wide-circuit perimeter around their location, both watchful and oddly at peace.  
  
"Vision?" He had an uncomfortable air and he lightly touched his forehead with his fingertips and winced. "Do you remember the fight at the airport?"  
  
"Parts of it." He admitted cautiously. "I recall accidentally firing on Colonel Rhodes, flying to your aid..." He trailed off, and his hands twitched in frustration. "Wanda, you do think the gaps in my memory will return?"  
  
"I think it's either a reaction to the electric shocks or possibly the trauma of really being injured for the first time." Wanda replied, patting his knee. "How are you feeling?"  
  
He gazed down at his hands. "Strange. As if... there's a constant sort of pressure in my muscles and most especially my head." Wanda lifted a hand and checked his temperature. "I think you have a headache, you feel a bit warmer than usual, but it's hard to tell with you. Can I come in?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
His mind wasn't the usual garden of tranquility it usually was - Wanda could metaphysically 'see' the gaps in his memory because he was usually so organized, filing everything in logical patterns. She examined the pressure he'd spoke of and winced as the pain transferred itself into her mind and body, forced to withdraw.  
  
"That's one nasty migraine. I think the pain in your muscles is probably due to all those shocks they gave you." She felt a flare of anger picking up, _how dare anybody hurt him like that_ , but she tamped it down in favour of coming up with something more constructive than vengeance.  
  
"There's some painkillers in the first-ad kit, do you want to try them?"  
  
He considered. "I don't think so, I worry at how my body might metabolize them while in a compromised state. I feel very drained, though I believe I completed the necessary sleep cycle required by my systems last night."  
  
"Makes sense, when you're sick or injured, your body needs more sleep. Do you want me to help you back to the couch?"  
  
"I'm comfortable here." He turned his eyes towards her, and she could almost feel sparks flying out of them and exploding against her skin like tiny fireworks. There was a hesitant edge to his thoughts, that same uncharacteristic vulnerability she'd identified the previous night there in his gaze. "You'll still stay?"  
  
"Of course I will." It wasn't like him to need such constant reassurance, and it caused her to worry a little more. Still, he was uncomfortable, in pain for the first time he could remember. She recalled how sensitive he was to being psychically touched. "Here, let me try something." Wanda propped herself up against a footstool then slid her arms around him from behind, tugging gently until an unprotesting Vision was arranged in a reclined position against her. She lifted both hands and began to rub slow, soothing circles around his temples. "How does that feel?"  
  
"Mmffph." He mumbled, going boneless against her, head lolling down against her shoulder. " _Wonderful_."  
  
She hid a grin, recalling the honest answers he always gave. "Where does it hurt? Here?" She explored his forehead, then began very lightly running her fingers over his face, starting with a careful sweep from his forehead down to the tip of his nose, moving on to glide her hand over each of his cheeks. She knew from experience not to use very much pressure, as he was far more sensitive than most people were.  
  
"Any better?"  
  
"Definite improvement." He certainly sounded drowsy to her ear, a new for him. She felt another flash of worry but busied herself smoothing Vision's aches and pains. When his eyes slid closed she moved on to massaging his shoulders, neck then arms, using her powers now to determine where he was hurting. He'd slipped into what she supposed was his equivalent of a doze - aware of her presence and her touch but only just, his reactions dulled down to a fraction of his usual lightning reflexes.  
  
Eventually Wanda's hands fell still, and her chin came to a rest on the top of his head, and she slept.  
  
Bucky looked in on them some hours later to see them tangled together by the dying fire - which he built up, moving with the silent grace of the assassin he'd once been. After the fire was blazing again he glanced down to check he hadn't woken either of them.     
  
His many-times frozen heart softened at the way Vision was curled into Wanda's smaller frame, the protectiveness in the arms she had wrapped around him.  
  
_This_. This was what it was all about. How could anybody look at the pair of them, and not see it?  
  
A rare grin suddenly stole over Bucky's face. He slid his cell phone from his pocket. Carefully flipping the volume button to silent, he opened the camera app and clicked a few photos of the two of them. He couldn't wait to show the guys. Maybe he'd just keep it a secret until a really good moment. Surely he could come up with some sort of bet with Sam...    
  
Making sure the cabin was secure, he left the sleeping couple and went to stand guard back at the jet.

 

* * *

 

  
  
Wanda awoke when Vision began to stir in her arms. "Good morning." She croaked, groggy and parched after a night spent by the fire. She was exceptionally reluctant to lower her embrace though. "How do you feel this morning?"  
  
He considered. "Much better. Doubtless due to your ministrations last night." He smiled at her, shyness edging the expression. "Thank you."  
  
She smiled in return and brushed a kiss to his forehead before reluctantly releasing him. A quick tidy and refresh at the sink and she came to crouch back beside Vision. "Let's check how your leg is this morning."  
  
She was pleasantly surprised when she removed the bandage. "You heal fast."  
  
"How bad was it initially?" Vision wondered. Wanda reapplied a fresh bandage. "Your bones are vibranium. Silver, but darker than these parts of your skin." She tapped a nail against an eddy of metal flowing along his leg.  
  
"I'd like to see if I can walk." Wanda was reluctant, but he was insistent. She helped him up and hovered anxiously while he limped to the couch, breathing again only when he sat.  
  
He was back up in a half-hour, and made it around the cabin in that attempt. The next hurdle was a visit outside. When he stepped off the porch and paused with his head tilted upwards, a lump came into her throat. Whenever he felt the first touch of sun on his skin, he froze for a brief moment, and drank in the sensation. When he did that, his fingers would flex outward, stretching, and she could almost make out the ripple of pleasure run up his arms.  
  
She'd missed those little habits of his so much.  
  
If Bucky was surprised to see Vision outside and walking, it didn't show. They spoke together briefly before Bucky, true to fashion, cut to the chase.  
  
"Steve's pretty much out of patience. On the plus side, Tony Stark has realized your Vision here is missing, but on the minus, he's got SHIELD and the government about to start a county-wide search." He nodded at Vision, then hesitated briefly, looking between him and Wanda. His shoulders slumped a touch. "We're not going to be able to stay here long. We ought to leave. Tonight at the latest." He exhaled audibly, braced himself as if to say something further, then looked away. "I'm going to go check the jet's systems." He muttered, and escaped with haste.     
  
Wanda and Vision were left staring at one another, Bucky's announcement bringing up something neither had been eager to talk about. Wanda's eyes widened with dismay when she realized that not so long ago, she'd stood in front of this same man and felt the same emotions running through his head.  
  
His eyes were sadder this time, though.    
  
"Oh Vision, I can't do this again." Wanda put her head in her hands. "How can you think about going back? How many times can you forgive Tony Stark?"  
  
"It's not about forgiving him. He never would have left me if he understood the NSA's intentions. Besides, it's not just about me. What will happen when the government take an interest in Mr. Parker? Where will the line be drawn?"  
  
Wanda groaned between her fingers. "Vis, Tony has no idea how lucky he is." She uncovered her face and willed herself not to cry. "I can't draw this out. I cannot do goodbye with you again, Vis."  
  
"It won't be goodbye. I can promise you that." He caught her hands, looked earnestly down into her eyes.  
  
Tears. _Dammit_. Wanda blinked furiously. "We could drop you off closer-"  
  
"No, the risk is too great." Of course his first worry would be for her, she thought with a touch of bitterness. There had been a part of her, a tiny hopeful part, that had really believed that after this, he might come back to Wakanda with her. That they might have a chance to explore the possibility of being together as a couple, an idea she had long since given up fighting. Leaving this man meant leaving a slice of her soul behind. "I can still fly with my injuries. It isn't a long journey." He assured her.  
  
The concern in his face and the curve of his body towards her brought a sparkle of fresh tears. Fierce now, Wanda hauled him towards her, stretched up and kissed him.  
  
_And kissed him._  
   
When they broke apart, Wanda pressed her lips together to keep the sobs in. She'd done this once before, how could it be so much harder this time?  
  
"Take care of yourself, Wanda." Vision lifted a hand to brush her hair back, sadness written all over him. Wanda nodded, swallowed hard, then turned and fled for the jet.  
  
Bucky looked up from the console, startled, as she she yanked and locked the door behind her. "Fly, Buck." She choked through her tears. She hated crying. _Hated_ it. Crying didn't fix anything. It wasn't productive.  
  
"Now? But-"  
  
" _JUST GO_!" Wept Wanda fiercely, then collapsed onto the bank of seats closest to the door and covered her head with both arms.   
  
Vision watched the jet take off, and retreated all too rapidly to become a mere spec in the distance.  
  
And then it was gone, parting Wanda from him, leaving him with an awful ache in his heart and a less familiar lump in his throat. Staring up at the empty sky, Vision knew, logically, that he should be planning his return. That standing here alone accomplished nothing. But all that filled his mind was Wanda crying, Wanda's turmoil of emotion when she realized they had to be apart again, Wanda being taken further from him with every minute, and his heart cried out silently in protest. He closed his eyes, but there was only more Wanda behind his lids. He was certain - completely positive - that no matter what gaps appeared in his memory, he would never forget any of his interactions with Wanda.    
  
His mind seemed to chase hers, reveling in being able to do what his body could not. Wanda's longing to show him Wakanda. To lie with him under the African stars. Walk beside him and intertwine her fingers with his. Play chess with him again. Curl up beside him on the couch and watch movies. Fly at his side. Kiss him whenever she pleased.  
  
He couldn't understand the drop that appeared on his face, since his face was still lifted to the sky, clear and cloudless. Could something be wrong with his eyesight? There was a strange burning sensation behind his eyes. When a second drop of moisture ran down his cheek he realized. Raising a wondering hand, he brushed a tear from under his eye.  
  
Tears. Crying.  
  
_He could cry._  
  
"Wanda..."  
  
He was still only for a minute, and then he was airborne. He swept all his plans aside and had a new destination in under 1.3 seconds of processing time. Connecting himself into the communications network, he patched in a call.  
  
"Friday?"  
  
"The Vision, if I'm not mistaken. And I rarely am."  
  
"Friday, I know you are attempting to trace my whereabouts, so I will be swift. I need you to deliver a message to Mr. Stark."  
  
"He's not going to like this, is he?"  
  
"Probably not. Can you tell him that... I am most deeply sorry. And that, under no circumstances, is he to let Peter Parker go with the NSA, or any other government organization under the guise of testing his abilities."  
  
"Got it. Can you-"  
  
Vision cut their connection. His body was still sore and an unfamiliar residual static lingered in some of his organs, including inside his head, that would make the long flight ahead a challenge for him. Still, he had no intention of letting anything stop him this time. When he reached his destination, he'd let his body rest, recover from the strains he'd put it under. Until then, he had a sole purpose.  
  
He arced up, up until the land was minuscule beneath him, and he flew.


	6. Chapter 6

Wanda's head was bowed as she and Bucky stepped down from the jets' short set of steps. Though he didn't speak, and he understood her desire not to be touched because she shared that with him, Wanda caught the intention if things would be different that Bucky would have slung his arm around her shoulders and give her a hug. It was something that Pietro would have done, and she missed her twin more fiercely than ever.  
   
It was dawn in Wakanda and still chilly, as it always was before the sun made it over the mountains. Bucky stepped briskly, though Wanda found her feet dragging as he lagged behind him, hugging her coat tighter around her. They emerged from the hanger into the wide, paved courtyard bordered by tropical flowers and shrubs and currently the scene of a heated disagreement. Bucky came to such a sudden halt Wanda banged into his back with a soft ' _oof_ ', and had to peer around his figure to see what was happening.    
  
Wanda was surprised to see Natasha, and more surprised that she and Clint were squaring off in a fairly heated argument. Steve stood between them, trying to get a word in, and Sam had his head in his hands, sighing hopelessly, as he stood nearby.  
  
Tiredly, Wanda took stock of the courtyard. T'Challa was also there - he had a way of being perfectly still that made him easy to overlook visually, if not mentally - and Scott was hovering a safe distance from the spy and the archer. He caught sight of her first, grinned at her and mouthed the words " _Welcome back_ ".  
  
She would have responded to his friendliness, except she spotted the last person standing in the courtyard and all her senses slammed to an immediate and total stop.  
  
It was Vision.    
  
Surely she had to be wrong. Surely, he wasn't standing there in the early morning Wakandan light, in full eyesight of the rest of her team. She was overly tired and stricken with grief and she was just imagining him there because she wanted him so very badly.  
  
Then his familiar mind was reaching into hers and there was no defense she could muster, no possible way to fool herself, _he was here, he'd come_ , and the strength of emotion coming from him assured her it was for her, _he'd come here for her_.  
  
The argument stilled and Steve's head tilted to one side when he saw Wanda and Bucky and he rushed them, halting within arms' reach and quite clearly torn between strangling them and hugging them. "What on earth were you two thinking?!" Bucky deftly slid sideways out of Steve's reach in chase choking him won out, and sidled over to stand by, of all people, Sam.  
  
"You can't just fly off, out of the country no less, whenever you please, _without telling me_!" Steve was really warming up now, head snapping back and forth between his two runaways. "Wanda! Are you even listening?"  
  
Nope.  
  
T'Challa hadn't moved, but he kept one wary predator's eye on the crimson and silver figure who managed to stand in the courtyard even more motionless than himself. Scott looked back and forth between Vision and Wanda, and one of his eyebrows lifted. Steve waved a hand in front of Wanda's face.   
  
"Wanda, am I just wasting my- _Wanda_? Bucky, don't you hide behind Sam, I'm just as angry at you."  
  
Wanda wasn't even comprehending Steve's lecture. She and Vision hadn't taken their eyes off one another. Wanda could feel the wordless apology he was offering her, but in truth, he hadn't needed it. She'd forgiven him in the way she always did, the mere moments after he'd made his mistake.  
  
_Wanda, I still need you._  
  
At the same instant, they began to move. Wanda stepped around Steve. Vision strode past T'Challa. They met in the middle of the courtyard and Vision bent his head down as Wanda stretched up and their arms went around one another and they kissed passionately.  
  
Steve almost coughed up a kidney.  
  
"What the f-" Clint was interrupted by Natasha tapping his arm. "Language." She told him sweetly, though a smile lit up her face. Clint, his eyes huge enough to show whites all the way around, reached for an arrow and had it notched to his bow in an instant. Nat neatly took it off him. "Nope."    
  
"Told you so." Bucky smacked Sam in the shoulder, none too lightly. "Pay up." Sam groaned. "You've been in a tube ninety percent of our time here, how the hell did you pick those two?" Bucky just grinned.  
  
Scott catcalled at the pair, then whistled between his teeth when they kept right on making out. "This is really going to make my daughter's day." He said happily to nobody in particular.  
  
T'Challa seemed the only one largely unaffected, though a smile did twitch at his lips.  
  
At length Steve, looking slightly purple around the face, recovered. "You're still in trouble, young lady." He called sternly. Wanda didn't seem worried, since she merely kept on kissing Vision. Her hands were anchored firmly around him, one around his neck and the other under a  shoulderblade, holding him intensely tight as if there was some way she could pull him even closer. For his part he was equal in her intensity, hands sank deep into her hair to cradle her head.  
  
There were a few pointed throat clears by the time they broke apart. Asteroids could have been pummeling the courtyard for all Wanda was aware of. She gazed up into Vision's clear eyes, saw him inhale a ragged breath he didn't require. Though he knew she'd seen it in his head already, he wanted to put it into words.    
  
"Wanda Maximoff, I love you." He told her, simply and with so much sheer devotion that not a person there could be unaffected. Scott turned away, conspicuously blowing his nose on his sleeve. Natasha latched onto Clint's arm, their earlier argument forgotten, and buried her head in his shoulder. Sam felt his eyes welling up and quickly swung around, though he could have sworn he saw a shine in Bucky's eyes as he did so.  
  
Tears though, were not on Wanda's mind. She placed her hands against Vision's cheeks, fingertips caressing his skin. "My Vision - I love you, too." His answering smile was so full of joy and hope and nerves she began kissing him all over again.  
  
T'Challa, warmth in his eyes, waved a few times at the others, herding them in front of him and out of the courtyard. "Leave them be, my friends. No, Steve, you may yell at them later." He laughed, and Scott bounced around hugging and crying on everyone saying what a beautiful couple Wanda and Vision made.  
  
"What made you decide to come after me?" Wanda asked softly, once they broke their kiss for the second time. Vision looked steadily down at her. "I realized something. The only way one can guarantee one's loyalty is love. I need to be with you, and everything else is secondary to that."  
  
He thought he'd seen her smile before - the expression he loved to see most of all on her, but he'd never seen a smile like this one. She kissed him once more then pulled back to link her arm with his.  
  
"You know you're in trouble for flying all the way here with that leg of yours, right?"  
  
"More trouble than you and Sergeant Barnes are in with Captain Rogers?" Vision asked innocently.  
       
"Yes, much more than that. Come on, let's go inside, I'll rebandage it and maybe get one of T'Challa's doctors to take a look."    
  
Vision followed her willingly - something that he had made up his mind to spend a great deal of time doing for all his foreseeable future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really, really wish I could claim that Vision's line about love affecting loyalty as my own, but it's something I've been saving for a while, knowing I had to use it in a fic - the wonderful Paul Bettany said it in an interview asking about Vision and Wanda. Nobody ships Scarlet Vision like that man does! 
> 
> This is it for Fall in Love Too Easily, but you'll hopefully all be happy to know that I have around a dozen plots and outlines for the Sweet Dreams series being worked upon, so you haven't seen the last of me in this fandom by a long shot.

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Sam, you help more than you know. Were we all lucky enough to have a friend like you. 
> 
> ^^Clearly I'm overly sentimental, which you all most likely figured out by now, and should not be working on Avengers fanfic this late at night. Next chapter's nearly finished, so please drop me a line to let me know what you thought of this one.


End file.
